The story of our family and God's grace on this earthly journey when things do indeed change "in the blink of an eye."

Friday, June 7, 2013

Christ's Love in Us

We've just finished a week of Vacation Bible School (VBS) at our church...that has been the reason for the silence on the blog this week. It has been all I could do to get us up and out the door at 8:30 everyday, because after school lets out you think you're done and then VBS hits and it's like you forgot how to get everyone up and ready to go all of a sudden. It was so worth it though, it always is to see God work and move in the lives of our children. I didn't work with Sophie Kate's group, but each day I tried to find some time to pop in just to make sure everything was going well with her. One morning I snuck in during the Bible story. Sophie Kate is in the special needs VBS class and the teacher of that group has such an ease about her when it comes to these children. She knows how to talk to them, she told the Bible story in her own words in a way that they could understand and in a way that they could participate and respond...and they did, it was a wonderful thing to see. Let me tell y'all what's got my attention these days, what's running over and over in and through my mind, what I am fascinated by are those who don't have care that do care. Does that make sense? Those people who don't have to reach out to us, who don't have to include us, who don't have to love our girl and our family, but do anyway. The volunteers in SK's VBS class who don't have to serve in special needs but want to...what makes them want to? The folks we met just this week that said, "Hey we just put a pool in and we want to see kids in it every single day, come over and swim with us," what makes them open their home up to me and my group? I got a Mother's Day card in the mail last month (no signature and no return address) with a kind note in it as well as money that said, "Hope you can use this for your family this summer." Who does that? What compels those folks to give and offer and include us and think of us in such a way? I know by asking these questions it just brings my own selfishness out even more because I have to admit I'm not like these people. I didn't do things like this for others before SK came into our world. I don't get these people who do things for others with absolutely no expectation for anything in return because the world tells us to live for ourselves, put ourselves first and our wants above others. So what compels these people to do what they do? It's Christ in them that compels them. They don't just say they care they show it. They don't just say they have the love of Christ in them and then go about their life as they see fit. The love of Christ in them is active and living and doing. They love others because God loved them first. They serve others because that's what God calls us to do. It's not even something they think about or would feel comfortable being praised for, it's just who they are. Christ's love is active and alive and touches others and looks different than anything that could possibly be offered by this world. What a testimony to Christ living in us and through us that we do for others when we don't have to...we are blessed by His people doing His work.Romans 12:10 "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."